Watch it Burn

Chapter 16

We were getting supplies at a new earthbending village. Sokka wouldn't shut up about a stupid bag he was conflicted about getting. I half listened as Katara and him debated over the article while Aang and I sat there.

"Holy fuck!" I yelled, finally tired of their indecisiveness, "just get the fucking bag if you want it so bad!"

"You know what, I will!" Sokka exclaimed, oblivious to my frustration. I rolled my eyes and walked away while dragging the other two behind me.

"Hey psst, kids. Do you want to learn some earth bending?" Some random guy whispered to us as we walked away from the vendor's booth. I was about to shake my head no, not ready to give into what was most likely a scam when Aang beat me to it.

"YES!" he yelled in childlike delight.

"Then come on down to Master Wu's earthbending academy," The man said as he handed Aang a slip of paper. Before we could ask anything though the man walked away at a suspiciously fast pace that only added to my doubt.

"Look, the first one is free!" Katara pointed out.

I groaned internally, knowing today was going to be a long day.

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We waited for what felt like hours, but Katara said it was only 45 minutes. When Aang came outside, he looked distraught.

"Any luck?" Katara asked.

"Nope." Aang said, disappointed.

"Told ya." I said snarkily, getting a small punch from Katara.

"I bet the boulder is totally gonna beat the snake today." I heard a kid say to his friend when they walked out of the class.

"What do you mean?"" I asked them. They turned to me and rolled their eyes at my question.

"None of your business," they snarled, laughing at themselves. I watched as they continued walking, and to my luck, turned down an alleyway. I winked at the rest of my group and hurried after the two boys.

"Hey!" I called out to them. The pair turned around and one opened their mouth to say something, but I grabbed their collars and dragged them close to me.

"What were you talking about back there?" I asked, holding them up so their toes barely scraped the ground.

"Like we would ever tell you, now put us dow-" one started, but I slammed them into one side of the alleyway. Holding my up for a moment I noticed the evident fear dancing in their eyes as I pressed them against the rough stone.

"I asked nicely the first time, and there's a lot more I could to hurt you," I whispered menacingly at them. Frankly I didn't think I sounded too scary, but it seemed to work on the teens because in about two minutes they told me everything I needed to know.

"Thank you," I exclaimed with a cheeriness as I let them go.

As soon as I released the boys they took off down the narrow alley, desperate to get away before I changed my mind. Smirking, I walked back to where the rest of my crew was waiting.

"It looks like we'll be meeting some world class earth benders tonight my friends!" I gleefully told them.

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The center was huge, a large crowd shouted and roared. I immediately saw huge rocks being tossed around.

"Hey look! Clear seats! I wonder why nobody is sitting here." Sokka said as we sat down in a clearing.